Informed consent
-
This page provides more information about your stay and informed consent for necessary procedures. It is important for you to be aware of this.
-
Sometimes the urgency of the situation will not allow major interventions (for instance, an urgent intervention) to be discussed with you in advance. The doctor will then act in good conscience in the patient's best interest. Naturally, all necessary information will be provided afterwards.
-
We assume that the information here will suffice to adequately inform you.
Do you still have questions? Please be sure to ask them to one of the healthcare providers.
Welcome to our ICU
You or your loved one have been admitted to the intensive care unit of the cardiovascular diseases department. This is mainly where patients with heart failure, cardiogenic shock, myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, pulmonary embolism or after surgery for observation stay.
There are other intensive care units within UZ Leuven, which are connected to the intensive care department or the internal medicine department. All these intensive care units work closely together.
- Intensieve zorg 1
- Intensieve zorg 2
- Intensieve zorg 5
- Intensieve zorg 6
- Intensieve zorg 7 (paediatric intensive care)
- Intensieve zorg 8 (burn centre)
- Intensieve zorg 9
To make your stay as smooth and pleasant as possible, you will find the most important information on this page. We hope this info will serve you as a useful guide during your admission to our intensive care unit.
Do you still have any questions?
-
If so, you can always contact the nurse caring for you or your loved one.
Your stay in an intensive care unit
On an intensive care unit, the patient's state of health is constantly closely monitored. The team of caregivers does all they can to treat the patient to the best of their ability. Sometimes specialised tests are necessary.
Click below to read more about what is involved in intensive care.
Several examinations take place during admission:
- daily examination by the doctor
- daily blood tests
- daily electrocardiogram (ECG, which is an electrical video of the heart)
- depending on the patient's medical condition, additional examinations are carried out: echocardiography, RX recording, CT or MRI scan, visual examinations such as bronchoscopy or gastroscopy, and so on.
All these examinations are necessary for optimal treatment, even though they may pose a risk. This depends on the patient's general health condition.
Various assistive devices may be used during intensive care treatment. For example, many patients need temporary respiratory support. A respirator connected to a breathing tube, which goes through the mouth to the trachea, is used for this purpose. During this treatment, the patient cannot speak. At this stage of treatment, some patients are also kept in a deep sleep. At a later stage, this can also be done through a tube in the neck. Respirators may also be used to support breathing via mask ventilation. In addition, we sometimes use devices that (temporarily) take over the functioning of the heart and kidneys, for example the Impella system that supports the pumping function of the heart.
Powerful drugs obviously play an important role in intensive care treatment. This medication is administered through a catheter (tube) in a large vein. Usually, this catheter is placed in the neck or just below the collarbone. For the patient's comfort, painkillers or sedative (anti-anxiety) drugs are often administered.
Information through the healthcare providers
The care team keeps the patient and relatives as well informed as possible about the evaluation of the patient's health status.
If possible, the patient is informed in advance of planned and/or additional tests and operations. It may happen that healthcare providers need to intervene urgently, in which case the situation does not allow to discuss this with the patient in advance. In that case, the doctor will act in good faith in the patient's interests. Afterwards, the necessary information will of course be given.
Freedom of movement
It is important to know that the patient's freedom of movement is slightly restricted, usually when they are ventilated via a ventilator. For the same reason, a patient may need to be restrained if they were to become distraught due to being seriously ill or due to a problem in the brain.
Your room
On this ICU, men and women can be cared for in the same room. There is also no distinction between single and double rooms. The single rooms are used primarily for patients who need to be cared for in isolation and for critically ill patients.
Address
Location and accessibility
Visits on an intensive care unit
Visiting hours
-
Visits are possible every day at set times:
For the odd-numbered rooms and beds (1, 3, 7, 9/1, 10/1, 11):
- from 13:30 to 14:00
- from 18:00 to 18:30
For the even-numbered rooms and beds (2, 4; 6, 8, 9/2, 10/2, 12):
- from 14:30 to 15:00
- from 19:00 to 19:30
-
In principle, family visits are limited to two visits per day.
Please come with a maximum of two visitors per patient at a time.
-
Children under 12 years of age are not allowed to visit. In exceptional cases, children's visits are desirable and will be allowed. This can be done after consultation with the head nurse.
-
Any exceptions to the standard visiting times can be requested and discussed with the ICU's head nurse and/or supervisor.
-
Please register for each visit at the reception desk at the beginning of the corridor of the intensive care unit.
First visit
The first visit to a patient in an intensive care unit can feel rather overwhelming, because of the equipment around the bed and the various tubes, dressings and stickers on the body. If the patient is being ventilated through a tube in the throat, this will prevent them from talking. Ask the nurse how you can make contact with the patient, for example by talking to them or touching them.
Information by telephone
Despite the limited visiting possibilities, as a relative you can always call the ward's general telephone number for information on the state of health of the patient. Once they are on the mend, you can call the patient yourself. At busy times, we may ask you to call back at another time (e.g. around dinner time, when the healthcare provider caring for the patient is quite busy). For example, we ask that you preferably not call between 07:00 and 10:00 (during morning care).
Contact person
We would like to count on one specific family member/close relation to call by phone every time to pass on the information to other family members, for example. On the first visit, this person may provide the nurse with their name and telephone number.
Waiting room
We kindly ask you to be present in the waiting room at the start of the visiting hour. Before each visit, please register at the reception desk at the beginning of the corridor of the intensive care unit. A reception staff member will escort you to the ward.
You may have to wait a while, for example because the patient has to undergo an examination that could not be scheduled at any other time or because the patient needs urgent care. Rarely, it may also happen that the patient's condition suddenly deteriorates.
Talking to the doctor
If you want to speak to a doctor, ask the nurse caring for the patient. Due to the intensive nature of the unit, the doctor may not be available immediately.
Contact
-
Head nurse: Fanny Van Bael
-
Nurses: +32 16 34 40 40 (available 24 hours a day)
Mobile phone use prohibited
Intensive care units use a lot of sensitive equipment that is vital for patients. Mobile phone use can interfere with the operation of those devices. Therefore, it is forbidden to use a mobile phone inside the intensive care unit.
In the rest of the hospital, mobile phone use is of course allowed.
After your admission
As soon as the patient's state of health permits, the patient may be transferred from the intensive care unit back to a regular hospitalisation ward.
During the course of the day, it is usually clear whether the transfer is possible and whether there is a room on an ordinary ward. If you as a relative call to enquire about this around noon, we can give you further information. This will allow you to prepare for any visit later in the day.
In very exceptional cases, patients can go straight home after their stay in an intensive care unit.
Going home: more information
Have you been given permission to go home? Then you will find more information on this page about help and support at home and the necessary paperwork, among other things.
Team
Staff members
In the Intensieve zorg 4 ICU, you can usually call on the staff members/supervisors listed below.
During weekends, there is a larger team of rotating supervisors who take the weekend watch.
Extra support - The social worker
Are you worried about your illness, family, work or financial situation? Both you and your family members are welcome to have a confidential conversation with the social worker.
The social worker will work together with you to find solutions, give advice on social services to which you are entitled and will help you with questions about insurance and certificates. If needed, the social worker will refer you to external services.
Ask the nurse or call in person on +32 16 34 86 20.
In need of conversation or a listening ear? Ask for the pastor.
Illness and hospitalisation are often thought-provoking. Do you need a quiet, confidential conversation?
There is a pastor working in the ward who - regardless of your philosophy of life - can lend a listening ear if you are having a difficult time or have life questions.
Ask for a pastor via the nurse.